Zangali Philosophy
Dead Fish Tavern - New Luna - ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A large, wood-floored establishment with dim lights, and faded leather-and-wood booths lining the gray brick walls, it features real candle-lit chandeliers made from old ship's tills, and new-looking square tables lining the edge of the room. In the center, a large, lit dance floor takes up about a quarter of the floor space, and is well-worn from use. A holographic kareoke machine, a raised band platform, and a small DJ's booth make sure that the building is filled with music at all hours of the day. A polished wooden bar sits at the far end, with a thirty foot long stuffed Washingtonfish mounted on the bar's back mirror. It has been named Herbert, and is dressed in a new hat daily by the barstaff. A sturdy wooden door leads outside to Birthright Parkway. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" It is a cold morning. The slightest breeze stirs over the land infrequently. It is raining. Tue Mar 28 02:04:47 3006 Bright, definate stars shine through the thin mountain atmosphere. Contents: Exits: Out Urfkgar arrives from Birthright Parkway . Urfkgar has arrived. Ruktor is stooped in front of the bar, forgoing the barstools just for the opportunity to lean forward. A dirty-looking bucket sits in front of him, empty. Urfkgar ducks his way through the door and ambles up to the bar, ending up near Ruktor. He lightly slams a fistful of credits down and makes some demands, "Urf want juice. No stupid no gooderer juice. Urf want gooderer juice." Ruktor turns to look over at the newcomer, shaking his head. "There is nothing of worth here." He scratches at his nose. In Zantra: Urfkgar shifts his head around so his good eye faces Ruktor. He says, "It is all to be had here, good or bad. The planet is full of softskins." Ruktor nods gruffly. "You are the first Zangali I've seen here. That is probably why they have no proper nourishment." He extends two claws out to push at the empty bucket lightly. In Zantra: Urfkgar turns away from Ruktor long enough to give the bartender the evil eye as the man brings out a large, disposable cup. He digs around in a pocket and produces a handful of straws which he jams through the lid. He says, "You are the first Zangali I have seen. I heard about you before I saw you. The softskins do not see many of us." Ruktor shrugs his shoulders, clacking his teeth together. "It is more than likely that Demarian who attempted to push me off the cliff yesterday. I believe I scared him. He will talk of me for some time." In Zantra: Urfkgar grunts and shakes his head. "I have not spoken to any Demarians. Only the softskin who may have spoken with the Demarian. The softskin did not speak of the cliff." He drinks some juice through the straws. He asks, "Do you know why the Demarian tried to push you off the cliff?" Ruktor grunts. "I do not. I was looking towards the sea, and he came out of nowhere. When I told him to leave, he did so." He digs his claws into his midsection, scratching at an itch. In Zantra: Urfkgar shakes his head, scratching at his shoulder. He says, "Demarians are strange." Ruktor itches with a bit more muscle, slowly moving it towards his chest. "I might enjoy battle against a Demarian. I hear they are very agile. They would be fun to bat around." In Zantra: Urfkgar grunts and tilts his head up and left, cracking his neck. He says, "They are fast, but not as fast as a Nall. They are stronger than Nall, though, and have longer reach." Ruktor sniffs at the claws he used to scratch himself and chuffs. "I have never seen only one Nall, though. They come in groups. A Demarian might allow a fair fight." In Zantra: "Yes, I will give the Demarians that. One fought a Zangali in an honorable battle after much talking," says Urfkgar. "I have never seen a Nall willing to fight a Zangali in a fair fight. I have seen them challenge softskins to fights. There is little purpose in killing a softskin, though." "I suppose so. Softskins never want to fight fair. They always turn to large weaponry." Ruktor leans forward on the bar. In Zantra: Urfkgar snorts and clacks his teeth together. "They die quickly if they do not." "It shows a lack of honor," Ruktor chuffs. "If they're already going to be dishonorable, why not flee?" In Zantra: " You make a mistake if you expect your enemies to be honorable, " says Urfkgar, picking at his empty eye socket. " They are not. " Ruktor clacks his teeth together irritatedly. "If they lack honor, their lives are worthless. It depresses me to be surrounded by worthless beings. So I choose to believe they have the potential for honor." In Zantra: "I can nearly count the number of softskins who have shown honor on my bad hand, and I have lived among them for over ten years," says Urfkgar calmly. "They are softskins. They are primarily selfish, craven beings motivated by their carnal desire and greed. They cannot help themselves. They are not Zangali." Ruktor lowers his browridges, and a loud snort echoes out of his nostrils. "I refuse to believe that. While they will never be Zangali, they would be better creatures if they had honor, and surely they wish to be better than they are? Perhaps someone should present the Zanitravex to them. Perhaps they simply do not know how to live properly." In Zantra: "I have told it to those who would listen. They do not appreciate as would a Zangali," says Urfkgar. "I am no speech maker, though, perhaps you will have more success if that is your desire." Ruktor says, "There need be no speech. You just tell the softskins on Sivad that their lives would be better if they called no one servant. Surely the logic is obvious? And tell the ones in the Sol System that they should be a voice against tyranny. I do not understand how even their tiny minds could not comprehend these simple ideas." Ruktor shakes his head, balling one hand up in a fist. In Zantra: Urfkgar grunts and says, "As I said, their motives are greed and carnal desire. They do not feel the sting of living life as a servant. They do not feel the shame of being incapable of making your own way. They do not feel the need to fight. They are content to suffer. They are complacent. They are apathetic. They are unable to fathom the ideas of the Zanitravex even with the few exceptions among them setting an example. The rest fail to follow." Ruktor slams his fist against the bar, prompting a few to turn and look at him. "Useless!" Ruktor bellows, clearly angry. "This is more depressing than before. They are like ants, then. Every day I must turn and look at thousands of useless automatons." He turns to glare at a patron near the end of the bar. In Zantra: "They are not Zangali," says Urfkgar, calmly enough. "They live their own way, and the Zangali live our own way. The two are nearly incompatable." Ruktor blows a long, humid breath out his nostrils, still gripping one hand in a tight fist. "Their way leads to unjust war and needless suffering and slavery and dishonor and meaningless death. It is not only incompatable, it is toxic! Noxious! Useless!" He pounds his fist on the bar once more. "It is well and good to say that the softskins live their own lives, but it almost seems like a kind of slavery. A slavery to these useless ideas. A slavery to carnal desire. A slavery to greed. Surely we as Zangali can find some way of breaking those chains? Or does willing slavery not count?" In Zantra: Urfkgar shrugs slowly and says, "I am no scholar to debate the finer points of the appellums, but I will think on your question. I do not think there is any way for a Zangali to change the workings of the softskins' minds short of violence. Then, we would be the oppressor. They live as they choose to live. If they seek my help, I offer it. If they do not seek it, they do not want it, and it is not my place to interfere. An end to the softskins in power would simply put new softskins in power. They would resume the activities of the previous leaders soon enough." He shrugs again. "I need to return to my work." Ruktor nods gruffly and clacks his teeth together. "It is good to have a Zangali to speak with about these things. Continue in honor." In Zantra: "You as well," says Urfkgar as he turns to leave. Right before he gets out the door, he looks back over his shoulder and says, "A softskin you should speak to is my employer. He will be on La Terre. If it is your interest, he could tell you about his softskin way of thinking. It might be more favorable than others. I do not know if he lives his words or not, but he speaks them." category: Classic New Luna logs